Vincisgrassi Marchigiani

Heap the flour on a board, form a well, break in the eggs, and work to a smooth, elastic dough. Wrap and rest at room temperature for 30 minutes so the gluten relaxes and the dough rolls out without springing back onto itself. It is ready when a pressed finger leaves an indent that closes slowly.

Roll the dough through a pasta machine to the second-thinnest setting, then cut into sheets sized to the baking dish. Blanch each sheet briefly in well-salted boiling water, refresh in cold water, and lay flat on damp cloths so the pasta does not stick together or tear during assembly. The sheets should be supple and without tears.

Melt the butter in a heavy saucepan, stir in the flour, and cook the roux over moderate heat for about 2 minutes, until it smells faintly of biscuit, so the raw flour taste is driven off before the milk goes in. Add the warmed milk in a steady stream, whisking constantly, then cook and stir until the sauce is very thick — a wooden spoon drawn across the base should leave a clean channel that does not immediately close. Season with salt and nutmeg, then press clingfilm directly onto the surface to prevent a skin forming as the sauce cools.

In a wide sauté pan melt the butter over moderate heat and sweat the onion until translucent and soft, without colouration, so it melts into the ragù rather than announcing itself. Add the prosciutto dice and stir for 1 minute, then add the sweetbreads and giblets and cook for 3 minutes, turning them so each surface seals and holds its juices.

This is where the dish lives or dies. Raise the heat to high, add the chicken livers, and cook for no more than 2–3 minutes in total, turning once, so the livers stay faintly pink at the centre — yielding and slightly resistant under a spoon, not firm, not collapsing. Over-cooking produces a sandy, bitter result that no amount of assembly can correct.

Pour in the Marsala and reduce over high heat until the pan is nearly dry and the sauce coats the offal in a glossy, sweet-dark glaze, so the wine's sweetness fuses with the meat rather than sitting as a separate, unintegrated note. No standing liquid should remain; a pooled sauce at this stage signals insufficient reduction. Season and remove from heat.

Butter the baking dish and spread a thin layer of béchamel across the base so the first pasta sheet does not fuse to the dish and tear when serving. Lay a single layer of pasta sheets over it, overlapping slightly, then spread a layer of ragù, a layer of béchamel, and a scattering of Parmigiano; repeat the sequence — pasta, ragù, béchamel, Parmigiano — until the ingredients are exhausted. The final layer must be pasta covered with a generous, unbroken blanket of béchamel and a heavy, even coat of Parmigiano dotted with small pieces of butter.

Refrigerate the assembled dish overnight so all the components absorb into one another and the layers firm up into a single coherent body — this rest, noted in Giossi's La Cucina delle Marche, is described as markedly improving the final result. Cover the dish loosely so condensation does not drip onto the surface.

Bake in an oven pre-heated to 190 °C (conventional) for 35–40 minutes: the top crust must be deeply bronzed and almost scorched at the edges, because the Maillard crust is as important to the character of the dish as the interior layers. A skewer inserted at the centre should emerge hot. Allow to rest 10 minutes before cutting so the layers settle and hold their shape when sliced.